A Night to Forget
by Allonswin
Summary: AU: Rose loves the Doctor (Tentoo) more than anything; he's what keeps her breathing- what keeps her smiling. However, when a violent car crash leaves the Doctor's memory completely wiped and Rose feeling more alone than ever, her whole world begins to shatter.
1. Prologue: The Accident

**A/N: Ooh, look, a new, wild story appears (and I haven't finished writing the epilogue to Camp Dustun yet aha someone yell at me to finish). I'm not sure how often this will be updated, to be honest (although, the second chapter is written, and the third chapter is halfway done). However, I hope you enjoy my poor attempt at something a little sad! (Review are appreciated, as they let me know if I should attempt to continue or not). Enjoy!**

When Rose wakes up, her vision is blurred. Surrounding her are red and blue lights; they flash in every direction, blinding Rose. She's lying down on something soft. All around, people are screaming at each other in deep, rough voices that Rose can barely comprehend. The bronze colored street lights hurt her eyes and everything seems to move in slow motion. People run around and she can see the faint glow of a fire and her ears pick up the roar of an engine. People are pushing whatever she's lying on, speaking in soft, soothing voices, telling her that they are there to help. Someone shouts to another that she's awake and suddenly two more people join her side, speaking to her. One of them starts asking her questions, but his words comes out too quickly for Rose to understand. The other is a voice she recognizes all too well; her mother's.

"Rose," she chokes out, sounding as if she's been crying. "Rose, sweetie, it's going to be alright, okay? You're going to be alright," she sounds like she's trying to convince herself more than she's trying to convince Rose, although Rose doesn't understand what's happening. A man approaches Jackie and calmly tries to explain that she needs to leave, but Jackie makes a quick remark, which sends the man backing away.

Rose blinks hard and tries to clear her vision. She tries lifting her arm to reach for her mother's hand, but pain strikes though her body and she lets out a yelp, grinding her teeth together to muffle the sound. Tears sting her eyes and roll down her cheeks. Whatever she is lying on is suddenly hoisted up into a moving vehicle. Her mother climbs into it, along with one of the people. Almost immediately, the vehicle jerks into motion. Rose's breath hisses through her teeth at the pain caused by the sudden movement. Her head is aching, along with every other part of her body.

What had happened? She can't remember. She remembers leaving work with the Doctor and... the Doctor! Where is he? Why isn't he with her?

"Mum," she groans, and instantly Jackie is by her side, her brown eyes wide and filled with fear. Her mother, who is breathing rather heavily, puts a hand on her cheek.

"Yeah?"

"Where's the Doctor? Is the Doctor all right? What happened? Oh _God_," she lets out a quiet sob again, her chest heaving as she fights for much needed breath. She squeezes her eyes shut tight, wanting to avoid the falling of tears and knowing that she's failing miserably.

"Hey, hey," Jackie whispers soothingly, "it's going to be okay, I promise."

"But where is he, Mum?"

When Jackie doesn't answer, Rose clenches her hands into fists, which causes more pain to spiral up her arm. She takes a deep breath and tries to block the aching in her body. All she can hear is the sound of sirens and the vehicle she's riding in - which she has identified as an ambulance- speeding down the road. She jumps a little when a young man comes into view holding a resuscitation mask, which he carefully straps onto her face. He has short, scraggly brown hair and light gray eyes that are filled with sympathy. Rose squirms uncomfortably, her eyes darting around. The man has moved to the front of the ambulance and is speaking on a portable radio. Rose shakes her head, which only causes it to hurt more.

Suddenly, it becomes completely silent. Uncomfortably silent. She glances around, holding her breath. Each breath she takes causes pain to ripple through her chest. Jackie sits in the corner of the ambulance, her hands clasped together and pressed against her forehead. Her lips move but no sound comes out. It looks as though she's praying. The entire vehicle smells of blood, which is undoubtedly Rose's. The smell chokes her and she feels as if she's drowning in it. She groans as she lifts her undamaged arm to see that it's blanketed in cuts that are oozing blood. Her arm and clothes are soaked with blood.

"Mum," she chokes out. Jackie glances at her with tired eyes, her head tilted. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"No..."

Jackie's gaze drifts to the man in the corner, their eyes locking. She looks as though she's seeking out permission. He shrugs and Jackie turns back to Rose. She sits there uncertainly for a few minutes. Rose's eyes are starting to hurt. She'd much rather close them. Black spots begin to take up her vision and she blinks hard. Jackie opens her mouth to explain, but doesn't get the chance as everything fades to black.

XXX

Rose's eyes flicker open again, greeted by a plain white ceiling and a ceiling fan. To the left of her, she can hear a heart monitor beeping at a steady pace. _A good sign_, she thinks. After a few seconds, the beeping starts to hurt her ears. She lifts an arm and puts it against her ear to block out the sound. Her other arm, she finds, is held in position by a sling. Holding her breath, Rose scoots backward. The covers underneath her edge up and it's a bit uncomfortable, but after a few tries, she manages to sit up straight. Her head spins a bit and she hangs her head until everything is back to normal. Lifting her head again, her eyes drift around what she realizes is a hospital room. Straight across from the bed she's lying in is a dresser, with a mirror hung on the wall above it. On the dresser sits an old television that looks as if it hasn't been used in a while.

The wall is completely white and it hurts her eyes a little. To her right is a small bed stand. On it is a phone, an alarm clock, and a small plant that could use some watering. Her gaze darts to the other side and she manages a small smile. Her mother sits in a wooden chair, hunched over, her eyes closed. She snores softly. Rose thinks about waking her up, but she has dark circles underneath her eyes and her hair is unwashed and ragged. It's obvious she hasn't slept in a while. Rose looks down at her bed sheets, and her eyes catch a small remote control. The biggest button is blue and has 'nurse' written on it it large white letters. Reaching forward and trying to ignore the pain around her collar bone and arm, Rose snatches the remote and jams down the nurse button, sitting back against the wall with a tired sigh.

In a matter of minutes, a young woman enters the room. She wears baby blue scrubs and a white lab coat. Her mouse brown hair is pulled up into a pony tail and she has bright blue eyes. "Hello," she says, crossing the room. She hugs a clipboard tightly to her chest. "Glad to see you're awake. Do you need anything? Painkillers?" She asks, tilting her head. Rose opens and closes her mouth, too confused to respond. What exactly had happened? Why was she in pain? And most importantly, _where was the Doctor?_

"Uhm... no, I'm fine, thanks."

The nurse nods slowly. "Right. I'm going to take your blood pressure, okay?" Rose nods, watching blankly as the woman comes up to her and wraps the cuff around the top of her arm, then starts to pump air into it. When Rose was a child, she used to hate the feeling. She hated having her arm squeezed by the thing. She still hates it, in fact, but this time, she can hardly feel it. She thinks that should probably worry her a little, but she doesn't think much of it. After a minute, the woman takes off the cuff, then asks to check her pulse. Rose holds out her hand and the nurse takes it in a delicate grip.

"I need to see the Doctor," Rose says once the nurse is done. The nurse nods as she checking things off on her clipboard.

"The doctor will be available in a couple minutes. He's currently with another patient."

"No," Rose shakes her head, rolling her eyes. She's too frustrated to care about how rude she's being. "_My _Doctor. John Tyler?"

The nurse flinches at the name. Rose draws back a little in confusion. "He's alright, isn't he?" Panic grips her stomach and her voice rises in pitch. "Please tell me he's alright!"

"He's... alive," the nurse says, her face pale. Rose's breath comes out unevenly. Alive? _Alive?_ That didn't give her much to go by at all. People can have their limbs cut off and still be _alive_.

"Please, just lemme' see 'im! He's my husband, please... at least tell me what's wrong..."

The nurse purses her lips, her eyes filled with pity. Rose hates that. She hates being pitied. The nurse glances at Jackie, who suddenly stirs, her eyes flickering open slowly. Her gaze drifts towards Rose and her eyes light up in delight and before the nurse can stop her, she's throwing her arms around Rose. Instantly, Rose withdraws, wincing at the pain. Jackie smiles sheepishly,. "Sorry," she says.

"I'll let your mum explain," the nurse says quickly, before whirling around on her heel and quickly leaving the room. Rose's eyes flicker to her mother again. Jackie almost looks scared.

"What happened? Is the Doctor okay?" Rose asks quickly, swallowing the fear building up in her throat.

Her mother clasps Rose's hand, staring at her with sad eyes. "Love... do you still not remember anything?" Rose shakes her head. She has a horrible feeling in her gut. Jackie winces. "Rose... you and the Doctor - according to your co-workers... you got in a fight-"

"What about?" Rose blurts out. The heart monitor starts beating a little more quickly. Frustrated, Rose pulls out the thing that connects her to the machine. She's not really worried about fighting with the Doctor. They fight all the time; usually little things, things like whether or not they could go to the movies or go shopping or get a pet of some sort. They'd never had a huge fight.

Jackie shakes her head, indicating she doesn't know. Rose swallows her frustration and nods for Jackie to continue, her expression grim. Her mother takes a deep breath, her eyes shut tight. "They suspect that you two were fighting in the car. The Doctor was driving. He wasn't paying attention to the road. You..." Jackie makes a small choking noise in the back of her throat. Rose already knows what's going to happen. Her stomach feels twisted and her head is pounding harder than before. She doesn't make a sound. Jackie continues upon the silence. "There was a head on collision with a semi. The Doctor was thrown through the wind screen and crushed underneath the car. You were thrown into the ditch. You've got a small concussion, a broken collar bone, and your arm," she gestures to her arm, which is still in a sling, "was badly bruised, to they point where they needed to restrain you from moving it."

Rose doesn't say a word. She's too scared to. How badly injured was the Doctor? Jackie looks at her uncertainly, looking for a confirmation that Rose wants to - or can - hear the rest. Rose simply nods. "The Doctor's got several bad burns, all up 'is body. He's got several broken ribs and... his head was hurt pretty bad, Rose. He's in a coma, and they're not sure if he's gonna' wake up... ever."

Rose is shaking now. Her head is spinning. She clutches her stomach, gritting her teeth. "Oh my God," she groans out, her breath shaking. She reaches up to brush her hair out of her face, only to realize she's crying. Her chest is aching. It feels as if her heart is in her throat. Jackie has her face buried in her hands. She takes a deep breath, gripping Rose's hand tighter, to the point where it almost hurts and her hand turns white.

"If he does wake up," Jackie says, and her voice is shaking. Rose stares at her mother through watery eyes, staring hopefully at her mother. "He might not..."

"Might not what?" Rose breaths out after a few minutes of silence.

"Remember..."

XXX

They don't allow Rose to leave the hospital, but after a few hours, Jackie is forced to go home, leaving Rose alone in her room. With her one good arm, she hugs her knees her to chest, staring blankly out the window. Her heart might as well not even be beating. Everything on her body hurts and her face is red from crying. Sniffling, she wipes her cheeks to get rid of the wetness. Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Rose looks up, frowning, and manages to say "come in". The door opens, and the nurse from before enters.

"Do you need anything?" She asks. Rose glances at the woman's name tag. _Lucy_ it reads. Rose stares at her for a few minutes. She doesn't feel hungry or thirsty, for some reason.

"I need to see my husband," Rose finally says. Lucy sighs, shaking her head.

"You can't."

"Why?"

"Comatose patients aren't allowed to be visited."

"Why?" Rose repeats, fixing Lucy with a hard glare. The nurse sighs, rubbing her forehead.

"I honestly don't know. It's the hospital's rules. Stupid, isn't it?"

Rose doesn't reply. She turns her attention back to the window. The view isn't the greatest; it's just of the parking lot. However, beyond that is a small park. Rose watches the people there. A woman is walking her dog. A child swings back and forth on a swing set. But her attention is caught by two people; a young female blonde is walking next to an older male brunette. Their hands are locked and there's a young child running around at their feet. Rose can feel her heart breaking as she remembers back to what her mum had told her. No matter what happened, she doubted they'd be able to have anything like that, unless a miracle occurred, and Rose had learned the hard way that things like that don't exist. Not in her life, anyway.

Lucy sighs and leaves the room. _Good riddance_, Rose thinks, before flopping backwards onto the bed. She covers her eyes with her arm and does her best to fall asleep._  
_

XXX

Rose hardly eats in the next three days. During that time, the sling on her arm is taken off, although her arm still hurts. Lucy forces her to drink, but half the time Rose dumps the water into the wilting plant beside her. She spends most of her time sitting in her room watching the television or sleeping. Every once in a while she'll get up and wander around the hospital, but the nurses and doctors don't allow her entry into the Doctor's hallway.

They still don't let her leave. Rose thinks they aren't really worried about her health, but instead what she's going to do. Keeping her here is probably a good thing, though. She can't imagine she'd do much if she were at home. She'd probably spend her days sulking and worrying. She probably wouldn't talk to many people, either. At least here, Lucy comes to talk to her, whether Rose wants it or not.

Currently, she's sitting in the lobby, flipping through some old fashion magazine. She's got McDonalds chips by her side and every so often she brings one up to her mouth and nibbles reluctantly on it. People give her odd looks as they come up through the elevators, just arriving at the hospital to visit someone. Rose ignores them whenever they try to speak to her. She's wearing a light pink hoodie-like-shirt thing and dark blue jeans.

"Rose?"

Rose's head jerks up, her eyes narrow. Lucy stares at her, clearly uncertain. Rose raises an eyebrow, muttering 'what' under her breath. Lucy fidgets for a few minutes before she slowly starts to speak. "The Doctor, as you call him..."

Rose's breath hitches and she stands up, her eyes wide. Millions of horrible possibilities fly through her head and her heart starts to race. What if he's died? What if he's never going to wake up? What if he wakes up, remembers their fight, and hates her? What if he's paralyzed? Rose stares at Lucy, her stomach flipping.

"He's awake," Lucy finally says, rubbing the back of her neck. Before she can say anything else, Rose is bolting down the hallway, barefoot. The pounding of her feet matches her unsteady heart beat. Lucy calls after her and starts to run, yelling at her to stop. Rose doesn't listen. She stops in front of the door that she knows is his and suddenly, she's too scared to open it. Lucy finally catches up with her and has to bend over as she tries to catch her breath. "Rose, wait..."

"No, please don't. Don't say anything," Rose interrupts. Lucy opens her mouth to tell her something - something Rose wishes she would have waited to hear - but Rose pushes open the door, her damaged arm pressed to her side.

The sight of the Doctor on his bed leaves Rose's heart aching. His eyes are closed and he looks pained. His face is bruised in several places and he's got stitches up the left side of his cheek. His lip is split and his hair hangs loosely in front of his face. There's a particularly bad burn on his jaw. He's got a blanket pulled up to his waist. He isn't wearing a shirt and there are bandages wrapped around his chest where he broke his ribs. His arms and stomach are covered in scars, small burns, and cuts. Across the lower section of his stomach are several more burns and red marks are scattered across his stomach. He has a particularly nasty burn just above his collar bone. Rose feels sick to the stomach, seeing the Doctor in such a condition.

He must hear Rose open the door, because his eyes flicker open and come to rest on her. Lucy stands behind her, still breathing heavily. Rose stares back, her mouth hanging open a little. He doesn't say anything at first, but suddenly he grins. It must pain him to do so because he suddenly winces, and his smile is quickly lost. He shakes his head with a sigh. "Hi," he says, rubbing the side of his arm.

"Hi," she says, smiling at her Doctor. She feels relief flooding through her body. Everything was okay. He was alright. They were going to be alright, they-

"You must be the nurse?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rose's heart stopped. She stared at the man in the bed with wide eyes and stumbled backwards. Her arm shot out and hit the wall, using the sturdy structure as something to stabilize herself. Lucy made a small sound in the back of her throat; a whimper of some sort. Rose's gaze lowered to the ground, her hand clenching into a fist. Her jaw tightened, her breath coming out in uneven gasps. Lucy sent her a nervous look, reaching out to rest her hand on Rose's shoulder. Instantly, Rose drew back, sending the nurse a cold look before turning and stumbling from the room. Her throat felt tight and her mouth was dry. This wasn't happening... this couldn't be happening. It was simply a dream. In reality, she was lying in bed, with the Doctor's arms curled tightly around her, his face buried in her hair as he snored softly.

Except they weren't. She was here, in the hospital, and the Doctor didn't remember. He didn't remember who she was and he probably never would. Rose felt a scream rising in her throat and quickly swallowed it, her breath quick as she staggered down the hallway on unsteady legs, ignoring anyone who tried to approach her. She could feel panic building inside of her and swiftly made her way to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She immediately sunk to the floor, her back against the wall as she pulled her legs to her chest and buried her face between her knees, her fingers gripping her hair until her head began to hurt.

Her chest ached and her face was streaked with tears. This wasn't fair. Nothing was fair. Why her? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Why was it _always _her? Rose let out a choked sob, her hand covering her mouth. She bit down on her fingers, rocking forward and shaking her head. "Please," she choked out, her arms lowering to her side. Her nails scraped against the white floor. "Please," she said again, her eyes burning. She finally lifted her head, her whole body shaking. Someone was pounding on the door. Rose remained still as the door finally opened. She didn't have to look up to know it was Lucy.

Rose ignored her, staring blankly at the wall across the room. Lucy settled down carefully next to her. She didn't say anything, just stared at her through her eyelashes. "He's not ever going to remember, is he?" Rose whispered, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her nails dug into her hand. She welcomed the pain that came with it. Lucy bit down on her lip.

"I don't know," she admitted, sighing. Rose screwed up her nose, burying her head again, letting out another sob. Lucy didn't touch her, thankfully.

"Can I..." she glanced up at Lucy, wiping her eyes with a shaky sigh. "Can I be alone?" A look of surprised flickered across Lucy's face but she nodded and slowly rose to her feet, opening the door again. She glanced at Rose uncertainly.

"If you need me, just call, okay?"

Rose nodded, letting out a long sigh after Lucy finally left. She rose to her feet on shaky legs, reaching back to undo her hair-tie, letting her blonde locks hang loose. Swallowing, she crossed the room to the mirror, attempting not to fall over. She stumbled into the bed when she tripped over her feet and hissed at the momentary pain. Carefully, she walked towards the mirror, examining herself. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her face had lost all its color. Her hair was growing long again; it was nearly as long as it had been when Rose had first met the Doctor, in his ninth incarnation. She smiled sadly at the thought. Shaking her head, she abandoned the mirror, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

For a while, Rose stared at the wall, thinking of nothing in particular. Her brain felt rather dead, her body numb. But after a few minutes, she started to wonder. If the Doctor never regained his memories (she winced at the thought, shivering and curling her arms around her waist), how was he going to continue in his life? He wouldn't be able to work at Torchwood anymore, and he wouldn't have anywhere to live if the hospital didn't allow him to stay. Not that she wouldn't accept him living with her, but would he really want to live with a complete stranger? Rose felt tears pricking at her eyes again and quickly shook the thoughts off, pursing her lips. She glanced at around the room, suddenly feeling homesick.

She could imagine what her mother would be telling her she was with her. She wouldn't be like most mums. She wouldn't hug her and say nothing as she let her daughter grieve. No, her mother, one of the strongest women that Rose knew, would tell her not to put up with the bad things that life threw at her. She'd tell her to stand strong and always look for the silver lining. Knowing that, Rose felt the tiniest bit of relief begin to flow through her. There was a silver lining. Yes, the Doctor had lost his memories, and that was horrible, and the thought made her want to weep; but he was alive. With burns and cuts and fractures, sure, but he was breathing and awake. With that in mind, Rose stood up, forcing her breathing to even out. Her eyes still watered from earlier and her eyes were still all pink and puffy.

She walked slowly towards the dresser at the opposite end of the room and pulled out a pair of black sweat pants and a light blue t-shirt. She stripped her clothing and threw it into the hamper near the foot of the bed, quickly changing into the clean clothing. Just as she pulled on a white sweatshirt, there was a knock at the door. Rose gritted her teeth, holding herself back from yelling. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

Sighing, she made her way to the door, slowly pulling it open. The doctor (the medical doctor, not her doctor) stood in front of the door, his brow furrowed. "Mrs. Tyler?"

Rose nodded slowly, looking the man up and down. "Yeah..." she sniffed, swallowing the lump forming in her throat as she imagined why the doctor was standing there. The man stuffed his hand into his pocket.

"We need to discuss Mr. Tyler and what he'll be doing."

Rose winced, her hand forming into a fist at her side. "Uh... yeah," she nodded slowly and stepped back, avoiding the doctor's gaze. He strode into the room, obviously feeling a bit awkward.

"You can call me Alex," he finally told her, staring at her with a sympathetic look glowing in his blue eyes. Rose nodded slowly, looking Alex up and down. He had short ginger hair and freckles were dotted across his cheeks and nose. He was several inches taller than her and while he was skinny, he was also well muscled. Overall, he was a rather handsome man. "Okay..." he stared at her uncertainly. "First off, I'd like to apologize for your... misfortune."

Rose's jaw clenched and she folded her arms, looking off to the side. She had no doubt that she was going to be hearing that a lot. She was already upset enough; being reminded of it every second was going to kill her. Alex cleared his throat. "Secondly... as you know, Mr. Tyler has had severe memory loss. But he can't stay here. He'll have to go home with you..." he trailed off, frowning. "Rose?"

Rose's eyes watered, her cheeks streaked with tears. Her arms lowered to wrap around her waist and she closed her eyes shut tight. Alex made an uncomfortable sound in the back of his throat when Rose let out a sob. "I..." Alex started, stepping towards her uncertainly. "I'm sorry, I don't..."

"It's fine," Rose whimpered quietly, stepping backwards. She shook her head slowly, feeling as though her heart was caught in her throat. "It doesn't seem real," she whispered, biting down on her lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth.

"I know," Alex said simply, his voice low. His eyes were filled with sympathy, and while Rose usually hated that, there was something almost comforting about it. She stared at Alex for a few seconds, wishing more than anything that the Doctor was here to hug and comfort her.

"You don't think..." Rose pursed her lips. Alex cocked his head.

"What?" He asked.

"You don't think you could hug me, could ya'?"

A small smile spread across lips and he nodded, closing the short distance between them as he wrapped his arms around Rose's thin frame, hugging her tightly. Rose buried her face into his chest, hugging him back and shivering. "It's not fair," she told him, refusing to let go.

He rested his jaw on her head, mumbling something under his breath, and then saying louder, "I know, I know. I'm sorry."

XXX

It took two whole days for them to fully check the Doctor over; for them to make sure that he was well (mind the burns, cuts, broken bones, and memory loss) and okay to leave the hospital. Jackie had spoken with them until they finally arranged for the Doctor to come stay with them. The only thing the Doctor would be told was that he 'was going to stay with a family until there was another option'.

Rose was sitting in the lobby, hugging her knees to her chest. Her mother stared at her, her eyebrows furrowed. She moved her lips, but no words were coming out. Rose watched the elevators numbers change as people rode in them. She felt sick to her stomach.

Today was the day she would be leaving. Today was also the first time she would be allowed to talk to the Doctor since the accident, and the thought terrified her. According to Lucy, he still believed that Rose worked at the hospital. He had no idea that he would be living with her. They still didn't know if he would ever regain his memories. They told Rose that it was up to her; sometimes a person's memories can be triggered by something- a photo, a song, a location. Rose jumped at a very familiar voice that caused her heart to ache. She peeked through her eyelashes towards the Doctor. He still didn't look all that fantastic, with his hair looking unwashed. He still had cuts and bruises covering his body, but his eyes sparkled and he half skipped, half walked down the corridor, chatting enthusiastically with Lucy. He made it look like nothing had happened, and that just made everything hurt more. Although, the way he walked was odd; it had a certain lurch to it, as if walking was causing him pain. Rose guessed that it had something to do with bruises and his broken ribs.

He stopped at the front desk, shoving his hands into his pockets as Lucy shuffled behind the counter, taking up a clipboard. "Jackie, Rose," she said, louder than Rose would have liked. The Doctor glanced towards them curiously and his eyes settled on her. He frowned, cocking his head. Jackie sighed.

"Come on," she said, standing up and offering Rose her hand. Rose didn't take it as she stood up by herself, walking her behind her mother as Jackie walked to the front desk, flashing the Doctor a small smile, which he returned for a short second before turning his attention back to Rose. Rose frowned and lowered her gaze to the floor, suddenly feeling self-conscious under the Doctor's curious gaze. Lucy talked to Jackie, carefully explaining what she needed to fill out on a sheet of paper. The Doctor said nothing but after a few minutes, he directed his attention back to Lucy. Jackie filled the paper out as quickly at possible, a frustrated look on her face as she scribbled on the paper.

Finally, Jackie placed the paper back on the counter and Lucy took it, stuffing it into a folder. "Right," the nurse said, smiling at the three of them. "You're officially free to leave. Although, we'd like you to bring him," she nodded to the Doctor, "back in a week for a check up."

Jackie nodded and thanked Lucy before turning around on her heels and starting towards the elevator. The Doctor followed, casting Lucy a worried look, which Rose caught. Lucy seemed to mouth something that looked like 'it'll be okay' to him and he simply nodded, but didn't look very convinced. They filed into the elevator and it descended into an awkward silence. Rose pursed her lips and looked around, trying to avoid looking at the Doctor in the fear that she'd see the lost look in his eyes and burst into tears.

He didn't know who they were. He was probably terrified right now, going home with two strangers. Rose brought her thumb to her mouth, biting down on her nail as she tried to expel the thoughts from her head.

XXX

They stopped at a McDonalds on the way back. The Doctor looked nervous when the cashier asked to take his order, his mouth opening and closing as he started at the woman.

"He'll have a ten piece chicken nugget meal with a vanilla shake," Rose finally said, looking at the ground. It was what the Doctor used to always order when they came here. The Doctor said nothing, just turned around and walked off to find a place to sit, walking with his awkward lurch.

"Is he okay?" The cashier asked as she placed the order. Rose felt anger bubbling underneath her skin and she took a step backward, glaring at the woman.

"That's not exactly your business, is it?" She snapped, causing the woman to jump. A look of guilt crossed her face and she quickly finished placing the order, muttering 'sorry' under her breath. Jackie rolled her eyes.

"You can't do that," she said to Rose. Rose stared ahead, not answering in the hopes that her mother would drop the subject. She continued talking, however. "People are going to ask questions, Rose, he's got scars. People will probably ask questions for the rest of his life, and-"

"And he won't be able to answer them, mum!" Rose finally gasped, turning to face Jackie. "That's the thing! He's clueless! He hasn't got any idea about anything in his life; he didn't even know what to order!" She raked a hair through her hair, gritting her teeth. "I've lost him_ again_ mum! For the third time! He's gone, and it's my fault!"

"No, it's not your fault, don't say that," Jackie snapped, resting her hands on her hips. Rose through her hands into the air, letting out a frustrated laugh.

"It is! It's completely my fault... I don't know what to do, mum. What if _he _never comes back?"

"Rose, sweetie, he's still the same man-"

"But he's not. Memories are what make you who you are, and he's got none of them," and with that, Rose swirled around on her heels, stalking off to find where the Doctor had chosen to sit. When she finally found him, he was sitting at the back, and a child had climbed into the seat in front of him. Rose shuffled closer, listening to the conversation.

"How did you get those scars, mister?" The child asked, staring at the Doctor with a curious look on his face. The Doctor stared back, his jaw hanging open a little. "Did ya' get in a fight?"

Rose scowled and walked up to the side of the table, staring at the child. "No," she answered for him, and then added, "go find your parents." The child stared at her, then stuck his tongue out and dropped from the seat, but he didn't leave. Instead, he turned back to the Doctor, arching his eyebrow.

"So, what did happen, mister?"

Rose's gaze darted to the Doctor's face. He stared at the child with a sad look on his face. He looked tired and older than he should. "I don't know," the Doctor finally said. "I don't remember..."


End file.
